Convenient Bets
by inthedarkshadows
Summary: All Connor Stoll wanted was to date that hot Aphrodite chick. But how the hell did it turn to Travis Stoll asking out Katie Gardner? They were enemies. But one day, Travis didn't think so anymore.
1. Chapter 1

Travis Stoll was not usually nervous. Hell, he was never nervous around girls. At least that's what he thought. It never occurred to him, after almost 4 years of knowing Katie Gardner, that _he_ would be nervous in _her _presence. But of course, he tried to convince himself that he was not nervous. It was probably the heat. He caught a flash of brown hair—her brown hair, to be exact and felt a can of _something_ in the pit of his stomach to be opened. Yep, it was probably the heat. It all started a week ago.

_Last week_

"It's not every day you have the opportunity to do this, Trav," his brother, Connor, reasoned.

Well, just to enlighten you people who do not particularly know Connor Stoll and his brother, Travis: they were troublemakers. They were likeable enough, sure. They were also quite the lookers; long, lean, curly brown hair, impish smiles, upturned eyebrows, and extremely brown eyes. They looked alike and almost everybody got the two mixed up. Although, Travis was just a tiny bit taller.  
The Stolls were A-Class prankers—crème de la crème, indeed. They caused trouble alright, more than the average Hermes kid, actually.

"Fucking hell. You must be one retarded dude," Travis replied, forcefully tearing his eyes away from his brother's.

"But, think about it."

"Gods, Connor, are you out of that thing you call your mind? Is there a reason you want me to ask out Katie Gardner?"

Travis was met with the sound of silence.

"Uh, no. It's just that—I, uh, want—Things are—Fuck this, Travis, I want you to be happy, " Connor replied, staring at his brother.

"Happy?" Travis asked, incredulous. "You know me, Connor, and why the hell do you think I'd want to ask out Katie Gardner for my happiness?"

"I dunno."

"There is something you are hiding from me, Connor. And I want to know what it is."

Color flooded into Connor's face. "I am not hiding anything from you, Travis," he said, with a very weak conviction.

Travis walked quickly towards him. He surveyed Connor's face and poked him in the cheeks.  
"Connor, I intend to find out what it is."

"You like Katie and Katie might like you sometime. So there. Ask her out and see if you have a future."

"I DO NOT LIKE KATIE!" Travis yelled, his face red.

Connor smirked. "Enlighten me, Travis, my brother."

"No. You will tell me why the fuck you want me to ask Katie out or I will run you with my Celestial Bronze sword."

"You wouldn't dare."

Travis' glare was a powerful one. _Almost Katie-like,_ Connor thought. Their eyes were locked together for what seemed like an eternity.

"Fine!" exclaimed Connor as he threw his hands in the air in mock defeat. "I made a bet with Ira Evans from Aphrodite that if you and Katie got together by the end of the year, she'd date me."

Travis absolutely glowered at Connor. "She's hot."

"Katie?"

"No, idiot, Ira!"

"Hence, me begging you to ask Katie out."

"No way in the fucking Underworld."

"Did I mention I had like about 250 drachmas I'd be willing to give to my dear brother?"

Travis thought about it. Katie Gardner was kind of hot…


	2. Chapter 2

Katie Gardner was not the type of girl who chased after boys for fun.  
However, Katie Gardner only chased the Stolls.  
Why?  
Well, simply because she had to inflict pain on them for any prank they had done towards her cabin.  
Now, that that's cleared up, on with the story.

Katie woke up to the intoxicating smell of nail polish. She coughed a few times before opening up a window. There was the usual scuffle in the morning inside the Demeter Cabin which Katie was thankful for; she did like some familiarity after all. She was plagued by nightmares last night. Horrible nightmares which Katie did not like to discuss.

"Katie! Mariah stole my fertilizer again!" one of her sisters, Lea, complained.  
"Mariah, please replace her fertilizer," Katie ordered, her tone exasperated.  
"Thank you, Katie! And good morning!"

Grabbing her towel and clothes, Katie heard loud noises from the front of the cabin. She rolled her eyes and marched outside. Surprisingly, there was no damage—so far, for that matter. Katie smiled at the sunshine that kissed the top of her head and the cool breeze that swept through the camp. She walked to the bathrooms and took a shower.

The mess hall was—no pun intended—a mess. As Katie walked in, her ears were pounding with the chatter of people. There was food on the floor which people probably dropped. Even a godly place like this was not able to escape the litter, messiness of teenagers. Katie sighed as she plopped down on her designated seat, staring at her food. As usual, it was another delicious breakfast made by the camp nymphs and dryads. Katie began to eat, listening to the idle chatter of her cabin mates.

"Katie!" a voice called out, startling Katie who was deeply engrossed in her book.  
She let out a sigh of annoyance and turned around.  
"Oh, just great. A Stoll to ruin my day. What the hell, Travis?"  
"You weren't busy, so I decided to talk to you."  
"I wasn't busy? I am reading a book, here, mister."  
"Yeah, you're not busy."  
"Reading a book is being busy, for me!"  
"Whatever. So, anyways I convinced Chiron that we should hold a dance for the campers and—"  
"Wait, what? How did you convince Chiron?"  
"I have skills, Katie-Cat."  
"Please don't call me that."  
"Call you what, Katie-Cat?" Travis teased with a smirk.  
"Anyways, proceed."  
"You're on the planning committee with none other than, the handsome—"  
"Oh, dear gods, no…"  
"The charismatic—"  
"I've been good my whole life. Why me?"  
"The intelligent—"  
"Hold up, right there, Stoll. Intelligent?"  
"You kind of ruined my momentum, so I'll just continue in hopes of regaining the pride you so cruelly took away from me."  
"You had no momentum…."  
"The freaking awesome, TRAVIS STOLL!"  
Katie rolled her eyes and folded her arms over her chest.  
"Well, Stoll, good luck. Sleep with one eye open, yeah?"  
"What the hell are you talking about?"  
"Nice 'prank', Stoll. Really."  
"It's isn't a prank, Katie-Cat."  
"Stop calling me that!"  
"Wait—Katie, don't walk away!"

Katie hadn't always held a grudge against the Stoll brothers. She just didn't like their pranks, especially if they were towards her cabin. There was actually a time when she and Travis were best friends. Although it was a long way before, she remembered. She remembered Travis' lopsided grin, the games they used to play in the woods, sneaking out just to see each other at night.  
What had caused the rift in their relationship?  
Sophia Fletcher.  
Katie closed her eyes at that name. She shuddered inwardly and shut the thought out of her mind.

"Hey, Travis! Chiron told me that it wasn't a prank, so stop your sulking and get over here," Katie commanded, her hands on her hips.  
"Yes, ma'am," he joked, smiling at Katie. Did Travis imagine it or did she actually smile back?  
"So, anyways, I figured we could discuss this tomorrow during free time."  
"Alright," Travis said as Katie turned around.  
"And you might wanna wear a less see through tank top!" he yelled after Katie.  
Katie marched up to Travis, prodding her finger into his chest. "That is inappropriate, Travis."  
"But, it's true. I don't understand why you're hiding all that—"  
Katie clamped her hand over Travis' mouth. "Shut the fuck up."  
Travis licked Katie's hand and laughed as she recoiled.  
_Oh, gods, he has abs! _Katie thought as her hand froze on his shirt.  
"If you want, maybe I can show you the real deal next time," Travis whispered into Katie's ear.  
She huffed angrily and stomped away.

"Well that went well," Connor said as he revealed himself from the bush he had been hiding from.  
"You saw that?" Travis asked, his eyes wide.  
"Hell yeah."  
There was a moment of silence before Connor spoke again.  
"Trav, are you really doing this for the money?"  
Travis thought about Katie, which wasn't hard since she was all he pretty much thought about. He thought about her laugh that seemed to brighten up his day. He liked her eyes, hazel eyes that were so beautiful, his knees got weak just looking at them. He loved her smile, especially if it was directed at him which was a rarity. He mentally smacked himself; he did have a crush on Katie Gardner.  
"Dude," his brother said as Connor nudged him.  
"Uh, what—yeah?" Travis stammered as he jerked back to reality.  
"You zoned out for a minute."  
"Oh."  
"Were you thinking of Katie?"  
"Uh, no," Travis lied, staring at the ground.

**A/N:  
Thank you for reading the story! I am pretty sure this is a super late update, and for that I am sorry.  
I hope you enjoy!**


	3. The First Time Travis Asked Katie Out

**A/N: Oops! This is amazingly long overdue. I'm trying to blame it on Writer's Block, but I've just been lazy and uninspired to write. I'm really sorry.  
The response to this fanfic is overwhelming and I am thanking you from the bottom of my heart for reading, reviewing and making this (and me) a favorite!  
Plus, I've decided to make this rated: T due to personal preference. (And I can't write a lemon scene which I was planning to do. )**

Shout out to Alruta 99 who was asking if I was going to do a lemon scene. I don't know if you were looking forward to one or something, but if I disappointed you, I'm sorry! I just can't write one. I tried multiple times, but it's just so blaaah.

dont blink or u might miss me: Aww, thank you! That means a lot to me. And yes, Stoll brother pranks coming up! :) I'm glad you liked it.

Megan: Thank you for the lovely comment. I hope this chapter doesn't leave you hanging. But it does. So sorry. I promise I'll have another one up by tomorrow. Hahaha.

Disclaimer: There is no way in the Underworld that I own Percy Jackson and the Olympians. Sorry for "trying on your clothes", Rick.  
Buuuuut, there are characters that I made up. So yeah. 

**Enjoooy guys! Connor (sadly) does not make an appearance in these three chapters. Sorry! I shall explain later on.**

Travis tried to ask Katie out to the dance three times.

The first time, it hadn't worked. Which was predictable.

"Katie, since we're planning the dance, wanna go with me?" Travis asked, smirking at Katie.  
_Katie is never going to turn me down, _Travis thought.

"No." was her simple reply.

"But, Kaaatieee!" he whined. "We're supposed to go together!"

"We do not!" Katie exclaimed, frowning at Travis. "Now, should the third streamer be pink or turquoise?"

"No one cares," Travis muttered under his breath.

"You're supposed to, Stoll," Katie replied, staring at Travis.

_Oh, gods, her eyes are beautiful, _Travis thought. He quickly averted his gaze and bit his lip.

"Hey, Katie?" he asked, looking at her.

Katie was hunched over her notebook, scribbling something furiously; her chestnut brown hair falling like a curtain in front of her face.

"Yeah?" she asked, irritation in her voice.

"Will you go with me to the dance?"

Katie smiled briefly at Travis. "I'm flattered, Stoll, but no."

Travis groaned.

Travis didn't see, but Katie was smiling to herself.

**Another A/N: I'm sorry! This was kind of short, but, um, the other two times Travis tries to ask Katie to the dance will be coming up soon. Hopefully tomorrow. I'm so sorry!  
(Please don't kill me for the end.)**


	4. Another Attempt

**A/N: This is a record people! Updating after two days. :) Feel free to feel proud for me. Haha  
So, um, anyways, here it is! I hope you guys enjoy and this will definitely be longer than the last.**

Thank you all for the reviews! If you have any ideas or requests, please do let me know. Constructive criticism is appreciated as well.

First part is in Katie's POV and words in italic are Katie's thoughts.

Enjoy!

Another disclaimer: Percy Jackson and the Olympians aren't mine! The storyline is though. And some characters.

Turning down offers of going to the dance with Travis Stoll proved to be harder than Katie thought.  
She couldn't resist smiling at the mere thought of Travis.

_Wait. _

_No!_

_No smiling because of Travis. _

_Absolutely no Travis, Katie. _

Katie shook her head to clear her thoughts and stared at the blank piece of paper.

"Dress code, dress code, dress code," she chanted under her breath. Katie bit her lip while in thought and tapped her pencil.

"Hey, Katie!" a voice exclaimed.

Katie's heart started to thump against her chest. She groaned inwardly and tried to breath normally. There was a clench in her stomach that wouldn't go away.

_I'm blaming it on cramps. Even though it isn't that time of the month yet…  
Shut up, Katie._

"You're late," she said flatly, not looking up.

"I know," Travis replied, grinning at her.

"Take a seat," she said as she gestured to the one on her right.

Travis sat down and looked at Katie expectantly.

_Ugh, those eyes!_

Focus, Katie!

"What, Stoll?"

"So, I was thinking—"

"Did it hurt?" Katie asked, a smirk on her lips.

Travis grinned at her. "Ha-ha. Very funny. How long did it take for you to come up with that?"

"Obviously not long, Travis."

He rolled his eyes and said, "Before you so rudely interrupted, I was saying that our theme should be Tomatoes."

"Tomatoes?" Katie asked incredulously.

"The red vegetables that are made into ketchup?"

"Tomatoes are fruits."

"Vegetables."

"Fruit."

"Vegetables."

"Who's a daughter of Demeter here?"

"You."

"Which means I am absolutely correct, Stoll!"

"Vegetable," Travis murmured under his breath.

_I actually like the banter._

_At least I get to talk to him more. _

_SHUT UP, KATIE!_

"The theme is going to be Ancient Greece," Travis said.

Katie considered that. "Um, alright then."

"Speaking of Ancient Greece, will you go with me to the dance?" Travis asked again. He brandished a bouquet of flowers and smiled hopefully at Katie.

"That has nothing to do with Ancient Greece," Katie said, surpressing a smile. She looked up at Travis and saw the flowers.

_Flowers are a nice touch. _

_Maybe you should say yes._

_Shut up, brain._

_If you say no, will he ask again?_

_You don't want him to ask…_

_I don't?_

_Wait, I'm confused now. I'll blame it on teenage hormones._

_Say no!_

_But I want to say yes!_

_Remember what happened before, Katie. Say no._

Katie frowned and bit her lip. She averted her gaze.

"Those were from my garden," she deadpanned.

Travis looked at her with confusion in his eyes. "Is that a yes?"

"No."

"It's not a yes?"

"Yes."

"it's a yes then?"

"No."

"A no?"

"Yes!"

"Yes?

"No!"

"Just tell me if you're accepting my offer or not!" Travis exclaimed, exasperated.

Katie eyes were fixated on her shoes. "I'm sorry, Travis."

"Damn it!" Travis yelled in frustration. He threw the flowers on the table and stormed angrily off.

Katie groaned and put her head in her hands.

What Katie didn't know (and Travis planned to keep it that way) was that he was asking her to the dance to get some money.

Well, that was partially the reason.

Katie was pretty hot, but very hotheaded.

He thought of her more as a cousin.

Which they were.

Technically.

He also thought that he didn't have a crush on Katie.

He was wrong about that.

The more he thought about the problem, the more confused he got.

Travis **was **doing this for the money, right?

But then again, he had been wrong about his crush as well.


End file.
